Light of Nonviolence

Author(s): Sushilmuni
Publisher: Vishwa Ahimsa Sangh Delhi

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SOAP AND WATER
The divine, eternal Self is like a mirror. If your mirror is perfectly clean, you can see everything in it. But if your mirror is dirty or covered by karmic particles, you cannot see anything. Lord Mahavira said that the Self of a person is covered by eight layers of karmic or cosmic dust, left by previous actions and lives. In this story, Guruji relates a parable about a disciple who uses the wrong technique for cleaning his "mirror," thus preventing liberation from the world and the clearsightedness of Self-Realization.
A
confused disciple once sought guidance from his guru, "Guruji, I have a mirror that I cannot clean. Each time that I try to clean the mirror it becomes only dirtier; and it is now so black that I am thinking of throwing it away. Could you tell me how to clean it?"
The guru thought for a while and then he asked his disciple, "How have you tried to clean the mirror?"
With the greatest of innocence, the disciple replied, "Oh, Guruji, I cleaned it with the most expensive and thick of cleaners available. It will clean even rust from steel but everytime I put it on my mirror, it collects something so fine and subtle that I cannot see the particles until my mirror dries. Then it is too late.
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